Child Support & Alimony

Mention alimony and most men and women sigh and roll their eyes. Men feel exploited. Women feel ambivalent. On the one hand women want their fair share of family resources, and on the other they want to cut ties to their former spouses. Interestingly, most women never receive any alimony or if they do it is in lower increments than they would have expected..

Typically alimony is paid in periodic installments (weekly or monthly, for example) for a certain length of time or until the death of one of the spouses or the remarriage of the recipient. However it has become more common practice that a certain amount of time be assigned the alimony and it stops upon the expiration of a certain date. Unlike child support, alimony is taxable to the recipient and deductible by the paying spouse under the rules of the Internal Revenue Service. As a result, many high earning spouses are better off paying family support in the form of alimony instead of child support because alimony is paid in pre-tax dollars and child support is paid in after-tax dollars. That means a dollar of alimony may cost the paying spouse 60 cents whereas a dollar of child support costs $1.40, assuming the paying spouse pays 40 percent of income in taxes.

According to Georgia divorce law, custody of all children must be determined before a divorce will be granted. The parents may decide who receives custody of their children. If they are unable to come to an agreement the court will then resolve the matter. Such issues as the age and gender of the children, the relationship with the parents and which parent has been the primary caregiver will be considered. Additionally, the court must also take into account the wishes of the child regarding the primary residence if he or she is between the ages of 11 and 14. The non-custodial parent will usually be granted visitation rights. However, the parents may also decide upon visitation rights. If they cannot come to an agreement in advance the court will make a determination based upon the schedule for possession of minor children.

Child support ends on the emancipation of a child. Emancipation, meaning the child coming of age and capable of self-support, is determined under state law. Child support (a percentage of the non-custodial parents income paid to assist with the support of his children) is determined by the “child support guidelines” as set forth by divorce law in Georgia. Expect to pay child support until the age of 18 or when the child graduates from high school, whichever is later, but not past the age of 20.

Furthermore, each of the 50 states has its own version of the Child Support Guidelines to help calculate an appropriate amount of support in a case.

Alimony might continue beyond the emancipation of the last child, and unlike child support, it is not determined by a set of published Guidelines. Judges have enormous discretion when determining amounts.